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86 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2022 that was additive electroless on the bare-etched, vacuum laminated dielec- tric films. e advanced-modified SAP (amSAP) processes did away with the copper strike and further exploited the thin- copper foils. Averatek's new A-SAP TM (or pure additive) starts with a treated copper foil on the laminate, but aer drilling, the copper foil is etched away. is allows a new generation of nanoparticle Liquid- Metal Ink TM catalysts to be used to pre- pare the surface for fine-grain electro- less copper application. Aer pattern electroplating and resist stripping, this electroless copper, being only around 0.7 to 1.2 microns thick, permits a flash etch without any etch resist. ese pro- cesses are seen in Figure 1. With these new, improved catalysts and electroless copper products now available, Table 2 shows the newer Figure 1: The three common SAP processes: mSAP, amSAP and A-SAP TM . (Source: Atotech) Table 2: Comparison of various fine-line processes including the new A-SAP TM from Averatek.